IEP’s and Parallel Parking
On February 5th 2015, all Brock Education
students were required to attend an event called “Building Futures”. Students
were required to sign up for two Building Futures workshops that they found
interesting and beneficial. One of the
workshops that I registered for was the Individual
Education Plans Workshop that invited future educators to take a more
thorough look into the creation of an IEP. The presenter, Linda Yan, discussed
and demonstrated the IEP process in Ontario. We walked through an IEP and
identified the connection between IEP and curriculum, looking at accommodations
and modifications. One of the main
reasons that I chose this workshop was because we as teachers are all special
education teachers. We all have to individualize lessons so that it reaches each
of our students, both with and without an IEP. Linda reminded us that we as
teachers are never alone in the IEP process. We have resources such as the LRT,
principals, and In-school Teams to walk us through this process.
The slideshow presentation highlighted the important
components throughout the workshop. This use of technology was simply and yet
very effective as we were able to visually see the points that we were hearing
Linda speak about. The use of hand-on learning and technology was blended perfectly,
as we were able to visually see the presentation but we were also able to
physically flip through various IEP documents and see an IEP first-hand.
The presenter compared a student with an IEP to a
driving. We all drive our own way, and we have been given a license, but there
are still aspects of driving that we can’t do comfortably. Students with an IEP
are learners, but there are just simply things that they are uncomfortable
with. As drivers, most of us would prefer to find a different spot to Parallel
Park… I know I do! However, when we do have to parallel park I don’t want
someone yelling at me or looking over my shoulder. I need the person beside me
to back off and just watch what I CAN do by myself. Students on an IEP don’t
need someone to point out all of their flaws, they need someone to be positive
along side them as they steer the wheel on their education journey. Thus, we as
teachers need to hold back and observe before we act, success looks different
for each child in each task.
(Muehmer, Feb 5th 2015, Building Futures Workshop)
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